Stafford leaders hope to invest $1.3 million to improve a street in hopes of landing an international shipping firm.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved a grant application submitted to the state’s Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund to improve Wyche Road.
The improvements are part of the Commonwealth’s incentive proposal to attract German-based mail carrier DHL to expand its presence in the state. The state will match Stafford’s $1.3 million contributions. Stafford is hoping that the combined $3.4 million will be enough to incentivize DHL to build a Stafford facility.
The proposed Stafford facility would cost $72 million provided by DHL and is estimated to employ 577 potential workers. It would be located off Courthouse Raod, near a new diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 95.
The Wyche Road improvements would include milling and overlay of the existing 22 feet of the street and widening the lanes by two feet each, increasing the travel lanes to 13 feet wide. The improvements would also include creating a three-foot-wide paved shoulder on each side of the road and installing new light poles.
The upgrades would accommodate the large amount of commercial truck traffic that would go back and forth from the facility. DHL currently has smaller shipping locations in Richmond and Sterling.
The Opportunity Fund program is administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation. It is used by the governor to provide funds that will focus on the transportation side of significant economic development opportunities to the state.
